Category Archives: cha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 4

07 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.17, akarmanaha, api, boddhavyam, cha, chapter 4 verse 17, gahanaa, gatihi, hi, karmanah, karmanaha, vikarmanaha

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karmeno hyaapi boddhavyam boddhavyam cha vikarmanaha |
akarmanashcha boddhavyam gahano karmano gatihi || 17 ||

(The meaning of) Action should be known, forbidden action should be known, and also inaction should be known, for inexplicable is the course (nature) of action.

karmanaha : action
hi : for
api : also
boddhavyam : should be known
cha : and
vikarmanaha: forbidden action
akarmanaha : inaction
cha : and
gahanaa : inexplicable
karmanah : action
gatihi : course

Shri Krishna is going deeper into the definition of karma in this shloka. Previously, we examined the meaning of karma as selfish actions, and akarma as unselfish actions. Now let’s look at what is meant by vikarma. Vikarma or forbidden action refers to any action that is not prescribed in one’s svadharma. We need to use our intellect to determine what is vikarma based on our individual situation.

For example, one could be a vaishya (businessman). His duty is to conduct business and use the earnings for benefit of family and for the benefit society as a whole. There is absolutely no harm if he wants to earn more and more wealth. It is absolutely ok as long as he is using it for the benefit of family and society.

But if one is a student, his goal should be to diligently acquire knowledge. If his attention is diverted towards acquiring more girlfriends, that becomes vikarma. The key point here is that no outside entity can tell someone what their svadharma is. It has to come from within, from deep self examination and analysis.

Having examined the definitions of karma, akarma and vikarma, let us know go one step further and understand karma at a much deeper level. Shri Krishna gently warns us that we need to put forth effort to have a correct understanding of this topic, because it is hard to comprehend. Karma is a reaction produced by nature in response to our relationship to it.

Firstly, let us understand what is mean by our relationship to nature. It goes back to our thoughts and our motives. If we are motivated by a selfish spirit, nature will give us a negative reaction, just like electricity gives us a shock if we handle it improperly. Conversely, if we are motivated by a spirit of cooperation and selflessness, we will not get that negative reaction from nature.

Why so? Because we have seen earlier that the spirit of yajna is embedded in nature itself. Prakriti or nature is moving with the yajna spirit, and we are part of nature itself. So therefore, if our thoughts and feelings – not just our actions – are “in tune” with nature and the spirit of yajna, we will not accumulate negative reactions or karma.

Next, let us understand where these reactions come from. They do not come from some outside agency that constantly monitors our actions and gives us karma “points”. These reactions come from nature itself. Nature is like a mirror – if you smile at it, it smiles right back. We have all heard the saying “what goes around comes around”. That is karma.

So what does it mean for us from a practical perspective? We have to constantly use our viveka or discrimination to ensure our thoughts and feelings are working in the spirit of yajna. If our thoughts are unselfish, so too will our actions be unselfish. Otherwise, we will go on accumulating karma which gets lodged in our personality as vaasanaa, which is the very thing that stands between us and self-realization.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 4

30 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.9, arjuna, cha, chapter 4 verse 9, deham, divyam, eti, evam, janma, karma, me, na, punah, sah, tattvataha, tyaktvaa, vetti, yah

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janma karma cha me divyamevam yo vetti tattvataha |
tyaktvaa deham punarjanma naiti maameti sorjuna || 9 ||

My birth and action are divine. One who knows this in essence, having given up the body, is not born again; he obtains me, O Arjuna.

janma : birth
karma : action
cha : and
me : my
divyam : divine
evam : in this way
yah : one who
vetti : knows
tattvataha : in essence
tyaktvaa : give up
deham : body
punah, janma : rebirth
na : does not
eti : obtain
maam : me
eti : obtain
sah : he
arjuna : O Arjuna

In the last two shlokas, Shri Krishna gave the reason for his avataara. Now the question arises: how does this knowledge help the spiritual seeker? He says that once we understand the secret of Ishvaraa’s birth and action, we will understand the secret of our action as well.

What is the secret of Ishvaraa’s birth and action? It looks to us that Ishvaraa is born, and that Ishvaraa performs action. But that is not the case. Through the power of Ishvaraa’s Maaya, it only looks like Ishvaraa takes birth and performs action. It is just an illusion. As we have seen earlier, the eternal essence does not perform action, only prakriti – also called maaya – performs action.

Now, the jeeva within us is identified with the body, mind and intellect. Its birth is based on past karmaas. It performs karmaas with a sense of doership. In other words, it thinks that it is performing actions. But from the standpoint of the eternal essence, there is no doership or enjoyership. It is prakriti alone that acts. Just like Ishvaraa does not perform action, the jeeva also does not perform action. The jeeva is one with Ishvaraa.

So therefore, one who truly and completely understands this point will drop identification with his body, and begin identifying with the eternal essence. That is what is meant by the phrase “deham tvaktvaa”: the jeeva has stopped identification of the body.

Here, academic knowledge is not enough. We need a first-hand understanding that prakriti performs actions and not the eternal essence. That first-hand understanding can only be gained through meditation, which is explained later in the Gita.

A simple way to understand the teaching so far is as follows. The individual jeeva is like a wave in the ocean. Ishvaraa is like the ocean. The eternal essence or brahman is water. Once the wave realizes that it is the same water as Ishvaraa, it is free from the limitations of its tiny form.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 4

29 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.8, arthaaya, cha, chapter 4 verse 8, dharma sansthaapaanaa, dushkritaam, paritraanaaya, saadhoonaam, sambhavaami, vinaashaaya, yuge

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paritraanaaya saadhoonaam vinaashaaya cha dushkritaam |
dharmasansthaapaanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge || 8 ||

For the protection of the good, and the destruction of the wicked, I manifest in every age to establish righteousness.

paritraanaaya : protection
saadhoonaam : good
vinaashaaya : destruction
cha : and
dushkritaam : wicked
dharmasansthaapaanaa : establishment of righteousness
arthaaya : for the purpose of
sambhavaami : I manifest
yuge yuge : in every age

Shri Krishna further explains why he manifests himself. He points out three reasons: protection of good people, destruction of wicked people, and establishment of dharma. This is not a one time occurence. It happens continuously : “Yuge yuge” means in every age, but it also means at every juncture, every crisis where there is a conflict that can disturb the harmony of the universe.

Now, from our limited perspective, we may not be able to appreciate why, when or how this restoration happens. It will usually never happen for the benefit of a single individual, city, state or country. It will happen for the sake of the entire creation. And just like sometimes a part of the body needs to be amputated, it could manifest as a tornado or earthquake, causing tremendous destruction. We could also complain that why does not Ishvara manifest himself and fix all the ills of the world that are happening now. The manifestation happens only at the right time, and only when it serves the purpose of the entire universe.

Sant Jnyaneshwar comments elaborately about Ishvaraa’s avataara. He very poetically says that the avataara destroys the kaajal (kohl) of ignorance and lights the lamp of wisdom in the world. Also, he says that even though Shri Krishna commands Maaya in order to manifest himself, he is neither the doer nor the enjoyer of the actions that he performs.

Having manifested in the world, and restored the balance of dharma or harmony, what happens next? Ishvara very quietly becomes unmanifest and lets prakriti take over, just like clouds disappear after rain, or a fever disappears after we recover from an illness.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 4

26 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.5, aham, arjuna, bahooni, cha, chapter 5 verse 4, janmaani, me, na, parantapa, sarvaani, taani, tava, tvam, veda, vettha, vyateetaani

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
bahooni me vyateetaani janmaani tava chaarjuna |
taanyaham veda sarvaani na tvam vettha parantapa || 5 ||

Shree Bhagavaan said:
You and I have have undergone many births, O Arjuna. I know all of those (births), but you do not know them, O scorcher-of-foes.

bahooni : many
me : mine
vyateetaani : have happened
janmaani : births
tava : your
cha : and
arjuna : Arjuna
taani : those
aham : I
veda : know
sarvaani : all of them
na : do not
tvam : you
vettha : know
parantapa : scorcher-of-foes

In this shloka, Shri Krishna begins to reveal his divine nature to Arjuna. Previously, Arjuna raised a doubt as to how did Shri Krishna convey the Gita teaching to the sun. Shri Krishna responds by pointing out the similarity as well as the difference between his birth and Arjuna’s birth. The similarity is that both Arjuna and Shri Krishna have taken many births in the past.

However, the difference is that Shri Krishna had the knowledge and memory of all his prior births, whereas Arjuna did not. Normally, human beings have such strong identification with their body that it restricts their ability to remember what occurred in another body. We even tend to forget events associated with our own body with the passage of time, including simple things like where we kept our keys in the morning.

So if Shri Krishna could recall what happened in all his births, he did not have any identification to his body, and therefore he is not restricted by its limitations. He was speaking as an enlightened being who realized the eternal essence and has dropped identification with his body. But there is more to Shri Krishna than just this aspect. He will reveal more in the next shloka.

Footnotes
1. How does the Gita treat the topic of rebirth? Our vaasanaas force us to take a birth in a body. If we chose to use the birth to exhaust those vaasanaas, then the cycle of rebirth is broken. But if we chose to use the birth to accumulate more vaasanaas, then we will be forced to take another birth to exhause the newly acquired vaasanaas. Only by cleansing our vaasanaas can we break the cycle of rebirth or “samsaara”.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 4

24 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.3, aam, adya, asi, bhaktah, cha, chapter 4 verse 3, etat, eva, hi, iti, mayaa, me, proktah, puraatanaha, sah, sakhaa, tahasyam, te, uttamam, yogah

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sa evaayam mayaa te dya yogah proktah puraatanaha |
bhaktosi me sakhaa cheti rahasyam hyetaduttamam || 3 ||

That same ancient yoga I have taught you now, for you are my devotee and my friend. This (yoga) is the ultimate secret.

sah : that
eva : same
ayam : this
mayaa : I have
te : to you
adya : now
yogah : yoga
proktah : taught
puraatanaha : ancient
bhaktah : devotee
asi : you are
me : my
sakhaa : friend
cha: and
iti : that is why
rahasyam : secret
hi : because
etat : this
uttamam : ultimate

Shri Krishna very affectionately tells Arjuna that he regards him as a devotee and a friend, and finds him fit and capable to receive this supreme knowledge. Arjuna was of course quite happy to receive it, but why was he chosen? Let us investigate this point further.

Whoever received this knowledge needed to be capable of communicating it to others. It was not enough that this person was wise. Shri Krishna also needed a capable evangelist, one who had a mix of sattva and rajas, in order to both understand and spread this knowledge. A brahmana is predominantly saattvic by nature, and may not have been able to communicate and establish this knowledge in the world. Therefore Shri Krishna revealed this knowledge to Arjuna, the ultimate kshatriya warrior.

Moreover, Arjuna was Shri Krishna’s devotee and friend. He had the best rapport with Shri Krishna, as well as profound reverence for him. So much so that Arjuna confided his fears to him in the first chapter, something that a kshatriya would hesitate to do. Arjuna also had the courage to ask any doubts without any fear of reprimand, and in doing so get a clear understanding of the teaching.

Many commentators believe that the 108 shlokas starting from shloka 11 of chapter 2 to this shloka comprise the entire message of the Gita. They say that Shri Krishna essentially completed the entire teaching and stopped speaking, having provided the paramparaa as the conclusion. The remainder of the Gita is an exposition of the teachings packed into these 108 shlokas. And it is Arjuna who helps us dig deeper into these teachings with his well-timed and thoughtful questions, like the one we will see in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 39, Chapter 3

16 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.39, aavaritam, analena, cha, dushpoorena, eterna, jnyaanam, jnyaaninah, kaamaroopena, kaunteya, nityavairinaa

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aavaritam jnyaanametena jnyaanino nityavairinaa |
kaamaroopena kaunteya dushpoorenaanalena cha || 39 ||

This wisdom of even intelligent people is covered by that eternal enemy, in the form of desire, which is like an insatiable fire.

aavaritam : covered
jnyaanam : wisdom
etena : this
jnyaaninah : intelligent people
nityavairinaa : eternal enemy
kaamaroopena : in the form of desire
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
dushpoorena : instatiable
analena : fire
cha : and

In this shloka, Shri Krishna gives the meaning of the terms “this” and “that” that were used in the previous shloka. He says that desire is the “that” by which “this” wisdom is covered. If wisdom is covered, then prakriti takes control of us, and we fall into the depths of unintelligent behaviour.

Shri Krishna uses two metaphors to describe desire. First, he calls desire an eternal enemy. We may think that we have subdued desire, but its seed lies waiting in the form of likes and dislikes. When we least expect it, it will arise and turn into a strong desire within milliseconds. Hence, by calling it an eternal enemy, Shri Krishna urges us to be eternally alert and vigilant in regards to our desires.

The other metaphor used for desire is that of a fire. Fire never says no to any fuel that is added to it. It is capable of surviving indefinitely as long as fuel is provided. But conversely, it ends the minute it runs out of fuel. Therefore, Shri Krishna urges us to take our focus away from thoughts of like and dislike as soon as we are aware of them. It is the power behind thought that fuels likes and dislikes to stronger.

So therefore, having convinced Arjuna that desire and anger lie him and not within someone else, he proceeds to reveal their location to Arjuna in the next shloka. He purposely uses the language of war so that Arjuna will respond with rapt attention.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 38, Chapter 3

15 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.39, aadarshah, aavritaha, aavritam, aavriyate, cha, chapter 3 verse 38, dhoomena, garbhaha, idam, malena, tathaa, tena, ulbena, vahinaha, yathaa

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dhoomenaavriyate vahinyarthaadarsho malena cha |
yatholbenaavrito garbhastathaa tenedamaavritam || 38 ||

Just as smoke covers fire, dirt covers a mirror, and a womb covers a foetus, so does this (desire) cover that (wisdom).

dhoomena : by smoke
aavriyate : covers
vahinaha : fire
yathaa : like
aadarshah : mirror
malena : dirt
cha : and
yathaa : like
ulbena : womb
aavritaha : covers
garbhaha : foetus
tathaa : so does
tena : that
idam : this
aavritam : cover

Earlier Shri Krishna explained that when likes and dislikes morph into desire and hatred, they increase the rajas in our system, creating a vicious cycle. So what is the end result? Here, he says that when desire and hatred arise, they shut off or conceal our wisdom.

Our wisdom, or ability to discriminate, resides in our intellect. Due to a lifetime’s worth of conditioning, this wisdom does not become our second nature. Wisdom is like a shining light, which can easily be covered if we are not careful. So desire, or anger, arise from the deeper, subconscious aspects of our mind and cover this light of wisdom. We then lose any ability to decide right from wrong, and behave foolishly. Shri Krishna says here that our wisdom can be covered in three ways.

The thickest, most dense covering occurs due to taamasic desires. These are desires that have lived inside our system for ages, and once they get activated, they totally cover the wisdom just like a womb covers a foetus. And just like there is no other way to see the foetus other than to wait for its birth, the only way to get rid of taamasic desires is to wait. They are so strong, and so in tune with our likes and dislikes, that nothing can be done once they are activated. Examples of taamasic desires are excessive drinking, drug usage, or even the overpowering desire to be “right” which can lead you into violent fights and arguments.

Less potent than taamasic desires are raajasic desires. As Shri Krishna says in this shloka, their veiling of wisdom is less thicker than taamasic desires. They are like dust on a mirror, where one stroke of the hand cleans the mirror. Raajasic desires are usually motivated by greed. Examples include buying the latest gadget, boasting of one’s accomplishments to one’s friends and so on.

Finally, saatvic desires are those that cover our wisdom very lightly. The desire to attend a satsang, or to attain moksha, is a saatvic desire. Our wisdom shines the brightest, or in other words, operates at the greatest capacity through saatvic desires.

As we progress in our journey, let us try to be alert and at least try to track the desires that we harbour. How many desires are we living with? What is the proportion between saatvic, raajasic and taamasic? Are we slowly changing the proportion in favour of saatvic desires?

In this shloka, the mysterious phrase “this covers that” was used. Although we got a sense of what that means here, Shri Krishna goes into more detail in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 3

01 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.24, aham, cha, chapter 3 verse 24, chet, imaah, ime, karma, kartaa, kuryaam, lokaah, na, prajaaha, samkaryasya, syaam, upahanyaam, utseedeyuh

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utseedeyurime lokaa na kuryaam karma chedaham |
samkaryasya cha kartaa syaamupahanyaamimaah prajaaha || 24 ||

These people would be ruined if I stopped performing action. I would become the creator of confusion and destroy these beings.

utseedeyuh : ruined
ime : these
lokaah : people
na : not
kuryaam : perform
karma : action
chet : if
aham : I
samkaryasya : confusion
cha : and
kartaa : creator
syaam : I become
upahanyaam : destroy
imaah : these
prajaaha : beings

Shri Krishna further elaborates on the argument put forth in the last shloka. As someone who is has realized the eternal essence, he does not have any obligations towards the world. But even then, he continues to act towards the welfare of society. Here, he says that if he stopped acting, all people who look up to him would be ruined and destroyed. We saw the example of a great social activist like Baba Amte, who although having performed such selfless service, continued to act till his last day. Society would take a huge hit if someone like him abruptly stopped working.

In addition, there is a subtler meaning here. Shri Krishna’s statements have a cosmic significance. So therefore, the word “I” also refers to every law or principle that works every second of our lives and never ever takes a vacation.

For instance, we all know what happens to a society when there is a breakdown of law and order. There will be chaos, confusion and destruction all around. But civil and criminal laws are just man-made laws. Consider what would happen if the law of gravity, a universal law, stopped working. People, buildings, and every free standing object on this earth would start flying out into space to its eventual destruction. And finally, what if our breathing or pumping of the heart stopped working?

Therefore the message to Arjuna is clear. Any task, no matter how insignificant or unpleasant, should be performed selflessly and with dexterity, if it is in the service of the higher good.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 3

30 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in anavaaptam, asti, avaaptavyam, cha, chapter 3 verse 22, eva, karmani, kartavyam, kinchana, lokeshu, me, na, paartha, trishu, varte

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na me paarthasti kartavyam trishu lokeshu kinchana |
naanavaaptamavaaptavyam varta eva cha karmani || 22 ||

Neither do I have the least bit of duty in the three worlds, O Paartha, nor is there anything for me to gain or lose (through action), yet, I engage in action.

na : neither
me : I
paartha : O Paartha
asti : have
kartavyam : duties
trishu : three
lokeshu : in worlds
kinchana : even a little
na : nor
anavaaptam : not to be obtained
avaaptavyam : to be obtained
varte : engaged
eva : yet
cha : and
karmani : action

As we saw earlier, Shri Krishna wanted to provide concrete examples of individuals who had attained the eternal essence, yet continued to act selflessly in the world. Having given the example of king Janaka, Shri Krishna now spoke about himself as an example of an ideal karma yogi. He had attained a state of supreme independence where he no longer needed to act, yet, he continued to act spontaneously and joyfully in the service of humanity.

The Srimad Bhaagvatam is filled with stories describing the life of Shri Krishna, where we find that he worked tirelessly from the start to the end of his life. There was no duty that he did not perform. He became a charioteer upon Arjuna’s request. After the Mahabhaarata war, Arjuna’s brother Yudhishthira performed a yajna. There, Shri Krishna even washed the feet of guests who attended. While performing any action, his attitude was that of equanimity, and he found great joy in the work while not expecting any reward.

Shri Krishna’s attitude towards life was like that of a perfect actor in a play. In fact, his stories are also known as “leelas” or divine plays. An actor in a play will perform any role – big or small – without the slightest attachment to it, and move to the next role effortlessly. Whether it was a mischievous boy who stole butter from people’s homes, or the ruler of Dwarakaa city, Shri Krishna played his part perfectly with the attitude of a karma yogi.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 3

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.18, akruten, apaashrayah, arthaha, arthavya, asya, cha, chapter 3 verse 18, eva, iha, kashchana, kashchit, kruten, na, sarvabhootehsu, tasya

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naiva tasya krutenaartho naakruteneha kashchana |
na chaasya sarvabhooteshu kashchidarthavyapaashrayah || 18 ||

For that (realized individual), there is nothing to be gained by action or inaction here. Also, he does not have even the slightest dependency on anyone for any object.

na : not
eva : only
tasya : that realized individual
kruten : from action
arthaha : gained
na : not
akruten : from inaction
iha : here
kashchana: any
na : not
cha : also
asya : for him
sarvabhooteshu : with anyone
kashchit : slight/even a little
arthavya : object
apaashrayah : dependency

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna explained that one who has found delight solely in the eternal essence loses all sense of doership. In other words, all his actions become selfless and spontaneous, like an artist who cares only about creating paintings without any expectation (art for art’s sake).

Shri Krishna further elaborates that point in this shloka. He says that for such a person, the concept of gain or loss does not exist, nor does the notion of dependency or support from anyone or anything.

To better understand this shloka, let us imagine a situation where one is at the end of a critical chapter in one’s life, e.g. imagine that a person has submitted his resignation and is in the last week of his job. What will be his mindset? He will suddenly become the nicest guy in the office, and the most fun guy to hang out with. Why is that? Everyone knows that he has no agenda with anyone anymore, since it does not really matter. And he can surf the web all day long, because it does not really matter whether he works or doesn’t work.

Another example could be a person who at age 65 has just retired. He has made a decent fortune with his savings, and can live comfortably till his last day. In addition, he is quite healthy and can still work if needed. But just like in the earlier example, it does not matter whether he performs any action or doesn’t. Moreover, since he does not have any dependency on anyone, his savings make him self sufficient. Therefore, for the individual that has realized the worth of the eternal essence “treasure”, any other material gain or loss does not hold any meaning.

Ultimately, these 2 shlokas reveal the state of a realized person, who by losing all sense of doership, renounces all action. Renouncing doership is renouncing action. The topic of renunciation is covered in detail in the forthcoming chapters.